Oysterfest Montreal 2013

Crossing the bridge into Montreal’s most prized summer event, Oysterfest, feels like the perfect way to culminate months spent tipsy and sunburnt. From afar, Ye’s N*ggas in Paris is heard fading into a remix of JT’s Suit & Tie. Before even encountering an oyster, there’s a sense of bougie aphrodisia.

While certainly one appeal to Oysterfest is loitering at the beautiful Terrasses Bonsecours, the other is most obviously is the food. Unsurprisingly, there are oysters by the crate. Oyster-cocktail pairing competitions are held between DJ sets. There is a salt to the air that creates the illusion of being Oceanside—likely the fault of Le Boite aux Huitres, who has two tents set up for shucking and serving oysters.

Several Montreal restaurants participated in the festival, occupying a series of tents towards the rear of small island. Below were some of our favourites:

Flyjin’s pork taco—the meat marinated in Maker’s Mark—was topped by mango-avocado cream and sweet chili paste. We’d likely eat anything that has sat in Maker’s Mark for any amount of time, and the intersection of cream and spice was great.

L’Orignal served seafood burritos consisting of spicy shrimp, house pickles and mayo mixed with a lobster bisque reduction. The portion was admittedly small, but the mayo is something we’ll labour to recreate all winter.

Pullman plated their infamous bison slider along with two salads—seared octopus salad as well as a light mango-cherry tomato split. Nothing goes better with sunshine than a phenomenal burger, especially with beers snagged from west-end pub Burgundy Lion.